Jean Hotte-Duceppe (1923–1990) was a stage and television actor from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Born on 25 October 1923 to a family of local shopkeepers in working-class

, Jean Duceppe came to the theatre with no formal training and was completely self-taught. He was popular from the late 1940s until his death at the age of 67 on 7 December 1990. His career debut was at the Arcade, performing seven days a week. Between 1941 and 1947, he performed in 34 different plays. He appeared in more than 160 plays on radio, on television, and in films. In 1971, he won an

Etrog Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' a ...

from the

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for best performance by lead actor for his role in the film '' Mon oncle Antoine''. He hosted radio shows and collaborated on numerous radio and TV series, including the first one broadcast on August 3, 1952, on SRC, ''Le Seigneur de Brinqueville''. Some of his greatest successes were his portrayals of

Willy Loman William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play ''Death of a Salesman'', which debuted on Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949. Loman is a 63-year-old t ...

in ''La Mort d'un commis-voyageur'' (''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montag ...

'') and Premier

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...

in ''Charbonneau et le chef'' (''Charbonneau and the Chief''). He founded the ''Compagnie de théâtre Jean Duceppe'' ( Jean-Duceppe Company) in 1973. Actor Michel Dumont and Louise Duceppe, one of his daughters, now direct his theatre company. He supported the yes option in the first Quebec sovereignty referendum in 1980. One of his sons is the Canadian politician Gilles Duceppe, a supporter of the independence of Quebec from Canada and a former leader of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

. In 1979, the

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

awarded Jean Duceppe the

Prix Denise-Pelletier The Prix Denise-Pelletier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in the performing arts. It is awarded to a creator, performer, stage-craftsman or person who ha ...

. In 1985, he was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

Notes

References

External links

The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Jean Duceppe
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duceppe, Jean 1923 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian male radio actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Knights of the National Order of Quebec Male actors from Montreal New Democratic Party people Prix Denise-Pelletier winners Quebec sovereigntists